Research Misconduct: A New Definition and Guidelines for Federal Research Agencies

Today the Administration issued the final, government-wide policy addressing research misconduct. The policy, developed by the National Science and Technology Council, defines research misconduct and establishes basic guidelines for the conduct of fair and timely investigations of alleged or suspected infractions. The policy will apply to Federally-funded research regardless of where the research is conducted or by whom.

Agencies will have one year to implement this policy. Once implemented, the policy will establish uniformity among the Federal agencies' definition of research misconduct and consistency in their processes for responding to allegations of research misconduct. Additionally, the policy provides clear guidance to the research community about the government requirements needed to sustain public trust in our publicly-funded scientific and engineering enterprise.

The final policy is published in the December 6, 2000, edition of the Federal Register (pages 76260-76264).